Blood tears (Silver)

[Anadwen]

Athran grinned. She had the grace and speed elven warriors were so known for... Almost as mesmerizing and wonderful as his sister.

However, none of that was ever enough for the Black Sword.

He already figured out her tactics - she aimed at his knees and legs, trying to disrupt his balance, and when he will be on the ground, smite him. That wasn't going to happen any soon... He stepped to the side, and narrowly avoided the blade of her sword. Before it made its turn, he slipped behind her back and gripped her shoulders.

"You're fast. But I'm the fastest!" he laughed.

[SilverShadow]

"Oh, I know," she said, and used his hold to lift herself off the ground and kick backward with both legs. Before she'd even finished that movement she curled her shoulders and let her weight pull her down out of his grip. She hit the ground on her knees and rolled away from him, using the momentum of her roll to bring her back to her feet. She stood facing him, sword raised, a grin on her delicate features and a playful glint in her eyes. "I never doubted that. If I didn't think you were far better than anyone else I've ever met, I wouldn't be swinging so hard!"

[Anadwen]

Athran spread his legs to avoid her feet, but let her go as she slipped from his hands. He could to practically anything right now, from simply bashing into her to leaping into the air and trapping her beneath the weight of his body, but didn't want to hurt her.

This was getting rather difficult.

"I have a hundred moves I could do, but I don't want to hurt you... It's difficult to hold back if you aren't used to it." he admitted, and shrugged.

Suddenly, his bent arm arose above his head and with all the strength bashed against the sword in Tavi's hands. The metal thudded on the leather guard, but bent back towards her face and shoulders. He used the moment of surprise and his knee would have punched her into the stomach, if he wouldn't have stopped right before the hit.

[SilverShadow]

Tavi ducked out from under her sword and dropped to the ground, kicking upwards and bringing herself to her feet and swinging the sword sideways at him as she landed. She stopped the sword before he could thwart it, and sheathed it again. "Okay, oh ye masterful one, I need a second to breathe!" she teased.

[Anadwen]

Athran laughed. "A second to breathe? I'm not even warm, Tavi. I'd say I'm cold, but I'd be lying, since I hardly ever am... But I understand not everyone can go on and on and on even after being almost dead. After all, you aren't a master warrior. But don't worry," he put one hand on her shoulder, "that will come with experience. Rest, if you feel a need to."

He gestured towards their bags and his armour on the fence. "Have a drink. Eat. Cool down. You've been trying really hard."

[SilverShadow]

Tavi rolled her eyes at him. "Yes, but you're the Black Sword. Of course you haven't even warmed up yet. I'm just a simple potion-maker, remember?" she winked at him. She enjoyed the feeling of his hand on her shoulder, but when he gestured toward their bags she realized that she couldn't just stand there next to him like a dunce.

She strode over to the bags and pulled out a water skin. "Would you like some?" she inquired, chugging a fair amount herself.

[Anadwen]

"Uhm... If you'd let me. If you need all of it, don't bother with me, I can do without." he replied, trying to pull his eyes away from her. "I don't need it that much."

He sat down onto the fence, grabbing the sheathed couple of scimitars, hanging from it, and pretended to be staring at the simple pattern on the edges, while in reality, he was glancing at her elegant figure before him.

She's really pretty... But I have to keep in mind I am only teaching her, nothing more!

[SilverShadow]

"Of course!" Tavi responded, promptly handing over the water. Perhaps it was something to do with her magic skills, perhaps not, but something made Tavi glance over him and say, "If I might ask...what are you thinking about?" Appalled at her forwardness, she hastily added, "Not that it's any of my business, and you don't have to tell me if you don't wish to."

[Anadwen]

Athran shook his head. "Many things." he muttered, and chugged a fair amount of the water. As he handed it back, he shrugged. "Mostly things you may not really be interested in... A lot of memories comes up with training people, you know."

Not all of them were nice, but this one will surely go under the good ones.

[SilverShadow]

She nodded and said nothing. She reached into her bag, pulled out a loaf of bread, and began nibbling on it. She thought she'd caught him staring at her, but... Taviel don't be ridiculous! Of course he wasn't staring at you. She could almost hear her mother's voice in her head, scolding her for being 'vain'.

She shook her head and pushed the thought aside. "So what would you recommend I work on improving first?" she queried Athran. "It's hard to tell what is a good idea and what's just stupid when I can't land a blow on you either way!" she joked.

[Anadwen]

"You are swift and have a good tactical mind. But you're not daring enough... Put more strength into it and go wild. Not that you should do completely mad things that have a higher chance of death than success like me, but try to risk a bit." he replied, still staring at his scimitars, but glancing at her in the corner of his eyes every now and then when she wasn't looking.

"If you want to keep training, it's fine. I can keep going till nightfall... But if you want to rest, it's fine just as well. I used to train from dawn till dusk, but I was draining the last bits of energy from me like that."

[SilverShadow]

Tavi nodded thoughtfully, then looked up at the sky. "It'll be nightfall in a couple hours, and there are some herbs I need to collect today before the sun goes down. Why don't we pick up here tomorrow? Give me some time to think of new strategies." With the last sentence she turned and gave him a teasing wink.

[Anadwen]

Athran scratched his head. "I don't have anything to do or anywhere to go... Mind if I'd follow? I don't know that much about herbs, but if you tell me what to search for, I could help." he offered.

Off course, the true reasons for this were different - he'd rather follow her and stare at her, even if he would have to pick up herbs on the way, than get drunk in the nearest inn and completely waste a few more days.

[SilverShadow]

"But of course! My offer included a place to stay and as much potion information as you'd like to have!" She gave him a warm smile, secretly thrilled. She'd expected he'd take her up on a warm place to stay for a night, maybe even a few nights, but he was going to accompany her herb-picking? Even cooler! She'd always found it the most boring part of her trade, and was glad for the company. "Do you want to put your stuff inside first?"

[Anadwen]

"No need for that. I'll carry it with me... I wouldn't let go off my weapons, anyway. There is nothing I couldn't carry. If you need to put yours away, I'll wait." he smiled. His hand sled from the scimitars to his shirt at the fence, but even though he grabbed it, he didn't put it on - yet.

"Thanks... It's all nice of you."

[SilverShadow]

Tavi raced up the stairs two at a time, opened the door long enough to drop her sword and armor, which she'd rapidly removed, inside the door, then raced back down them, pausing only long enough to slide down the last railing with a cheerful "woop woop!"

Returning to Athran, she responded to his last statement with, "But of course, it's no problem at all! And especially not for a friend. Let's go this way first..." And she strode off toward the trees at the far edge of the pasture.

[Anadwen]

In the meantime, Athran managed to put on the rest of his clothes, although they were hanging loosely from his tall figure. He smiled at Tavi as she approached him, and sled off the wooden bar.

"Now what are we searching for?" he asked, following her. It wasn't a problem for him to keep pace with her, but the chains on his armour were clinking with every step, almost cheerfully.

[SilverShadow]

She smirked at him, "Check you out, the musical elf!" she teased. "We're looking for two things in particular, laurel and chamomile. Laurel has long, rather shiny oval shaped leaves with a point at the end. Chamomile is sort of a feathery plant, with flowers that look a bit like small daisies." She thought for a moment, checking off a mental inventory, then added, "If you spot any comfrey, let me know about that as well. It's got similar leaves to laurel, but rounder and not as shiny. That one's easy to spot because it has bell-shaped purple flowers, and the stems look fuzzy."

[Anadwen]

Athran stared at her for a rather long while, appearing confused, then nodded. "I fear I might not be of much help... I know plants less than cooking." he admitted. "But I'll look around for them, alright?"

He stared at the ground beneath his feet, searching for the herbs Tavi described to him. "I can't find any... Show me one when you find it, please." he muttered.

[SilverShadow]

Tavi chuckled, then did the strangest thing. She sat down crosslegged on the ground, leaned her back against a tree, and closed her eyes. She just sat there, completely silent for a few moments, then opened her eyes and stood up.

"Over here." She lead the way through a thicket of bushes and abruptly stopped. "That, right there, is laurel. And a very healthy one, too. She ran a hand over the bush, nodded, then appeared to locate a few specific pieces and picked them.

"That's all I need for now. There should also be some chamomile right over here..." she carefully pushed her way through some brambles to a tiny clearing. "Ahh! Found it." She gestured to a large number of feathery plants growing all over the sunny spot. "Help me harvest a good armful of this, will you please? The leaves are smaller, so it takes more to make my potions. Just don't pick it all from one plant."